#Sewingtheseventies Qipao/Cheongsam

Completing a sewing challenge with over a week to spare…This is sky falling down territory!

When I saw the #sewingtheseventies challenge by Steely Seamstress, I really wanted to take part. It was pure coincidence that I just happened to be working on a seventies sewing pattern (1972) and my fabric choice was not only vintage…but as seventies as anything! Fate, you wanted me to do this post and be apart of this!!

Here’s my entry…

 

Megan is standing against a fence. She is wearing her handmade qipao. The fabric has a floral print..

I’m going to call this dress a ‘qipao’ rather than a ‘cheongsam’. Both are correct, just ‘qipao’ is the Mandarin way and ‘cheongsam’ is the Cantonese way. My husband speaks Mandarin so I’m used to calling it a qipao.

The Pattern

I bought this pattern, Simplicity 5010, on Etsy and I was ummming and ahhing about buying it for months. Firstly, at the grand price of £20 including postage, it would be the most money I have ever spent on a sewing pattern. Secondly, it was from America, with no postal insurance so maybe it wouldn’t even turn up.

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BUT…I was in love with that keyhole neckline. Other qipao sewing patterns just didn’t come close and I’ve wanted to sew a qipao for a while. I even love it more than the qipao on my make nine list, which was is also gorgeous.

For a bit more information about vintage qipao patterns there is an excellent blog post here by Devine Stitches

 

Megan is standing against a wooden fence. She is wearing her handmade qipao. The fabric has a floral print. Megan is standing sideways and she is looking down at the ground.

Fitting

I knew the fit on the bust would be perfect. I bought the 34 inch bust pattern specifically so I wouldn’t have to do a bust adjustment. I hate doing those! However, I know vintage sizing is still different from todays and I have a pear shape. I knew the fit wouldn’t be perfect everywhere.

….and as suspected I did need to add a bit more space for my bum/hips. I used a really small seam allowance for the back seam so it is baggier then it should be. I wanted to err on the side of caution, which was great for my hips but not no much for the waist. I think everything fits except the hips so that’s a pretty easy fitting issue to solve.

 

Megan is standing against a wooden fence. She is wearing her handmade qipao. The fabric has a floral print. Megan is looking down at the ground.

The wind is making it very difficult for you to see the great A line skirt shape but this dress is so comfortable!!

The Fabric

I got this fabric from the sewing weekender fabric swap. Thank you lovely person who donated it! It’s a fabric I would usually say isn’t my style but as soon as I saw it, I loved it! I thought it would be perfect for a qipao.

I have no idea what it is made of. All I know is that making those rouleau loops was a complete nightmare. It feels quite stiff and synthetic but cuts and sews nicely.

 

Megan is standing against a wooden fence. She is wearing her handmade qipao. The fabric has a floral print. Megan is looking down at the ground.

I am so happy with this dress and am just waiting for sunnier days. My only gripe is how annoying the facings are and I intend to fully line the whole thing next time.

I turned the collar down for these pictures because I was a bit intimidated by how tall the collar was! I was planing on making it shorter but now I’m very happy with the length. To see the full collar and more of this dress, you can watch my Youtube video below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wv-xG9JF318

Happy sewing!

Cleo Pinafore, Tilly and the buttons

From Instagram I knew Cleo was a popular pattern but being at the Knitting and Stitching show a few weeks ago made me realise just how popular Tilly and the Buttons, Cleo Pinafore was. Me and Gabby had ours on…and so did every other person at the show! There was a small army of Cleo wearers!!

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So long overdue and probably a little redundant, here’s my review 😀

The Pattern

The Cleo by Tilly and the Buttons and if you have Instagram you would have probably seen a lot of these already!

It’s a simple, quick sew and so SO comfortable to wear. This was my first make of the year and my sewjo had turned to dust. This Cleo took me three days (I’ve read it take people a few hours) and this sew was purely to fall back in love with sewing again…and it did just the trick. Slowly, with many tea breaks and Netflix on, this pattern came together easily with not much thinking.

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The Fit

This is the second Cleo I’ve sewn and I sewed a straight size 3….which really i shouldn’t. I should have gone between size 3 and 4 at the hips (I’m a pear) but I really like the fit to be tighter at the hips and think it is really flattering. The pattern has enough ease so going for the smaller size doesn’t make it uncomfortable. However, it is a bit of a squeeze getting it over my bum….and if I put on any weight it might not fit….but that’s the gamble I’m willing to take!!!

Changes

I shortened the pattern by 4 inches….I do like a short skirt! After I finished I thought that it might be a little too indecent with the split at the front but I think it’s fine and I don’t feel self conscious.

And not really a change…more of a mistake, I put the dungaree buttons on the wrong place *facepalm* I put them on the marking for the pocket!…Hope it’s not too obvious but D:

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The Fabric

This was some of the fabric I bought back from my trip to Uganda. You have to buy fabric in 6 yard pieces so you might be familiar with it as I gave some to Gabby, I knew she would love the fabric and I love it also, she made a gorgeous skirt. African wax print is glorious to work with. Easy to cut, work with and sew AND the most amazing colours….AND cheap!!! This fabric cost me about the same amount it costs in London £12 for 6 yards. Not sure why I didn’t work with this stuff when I was a beginner….I went with even cheaper, slippery stuff that left me with unwearable monstrosities and made sewing much harder than it needed to be.

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I made no attempt to pattern match. The only place I did bother was on the pockets and even then the pattern is ever so slightly off because I didn’t hand baste it down. I also didn’t overlock the edges. I just used pinking shears and it’s holding up great…This was a very chilled out sew!

I will add African wax print is so stiff! Having the split at the front with this fabric is very useful..I take big strides :p

If you’re interested you can have a look at some of the other fabric I bought back from Uganda in this vlog I did…There are some beauties :p

Happy Sewing

Megan xxxx

#makenine2017

I’ve been avoiding this little corner of internet I created this year (hello Spring!!) and sharing stuff online that the majority of my family doesn’t know left me feeling very, very awkward. However the amazing, amazing words you’ve written to me and the feeling felt cannot be expressed by a small sentence online and I can only say the biggest thank you.

and back to our favourite topic. Sewing!!!

Last years make nine feel kinda flat. Counting I made 4 of them, which is more than I thought I did. However, two are unwearable which is probably why I blanked them from my memory…Looking back the list was thrown together with little thought of practicality or sewing a wardrobe that would work in my day to day life.

I believe in the power of lists and older, *ahem* wiser here’s my list for 2017..

 

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By Hand London, Victoria Blazer

I’ve made this pattern before but I want to make it again a different view (the cropped one you can see in the picture). I like everything about this pattern but made the mistake of making the sleeveless view the first time round and it is too cold to be going out in a sleeveless blazer most of the time!

Deer and Doe, Lupin Jack

Another jacket, which will fill a gap I have in my wardrobe for a Spring jacket. At the moment I go straight from a Winter coat to coatless purely because I have no go between.

Closet Case Files, Carolyn Pyjamas

I desperately need Pyjamas. I can’t even remember a time I bought/owned pyjamas. I’ve been surviving off big t-shirts and very old leggings for over a decade and after stealing my husbands pyjamas for a weekend I realised I need to have a set of pyjamas in my life.

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Kommatia, Cropped trousers

The thought of having a staple pair of flattering trousers is a dream. I’m turning away from dresses and skirts ,which used to be my uniform, to just wanting to live in trouser.

Butterick, B6285 Wrap Top

Again I’m in need of tops. I have enough summer clothes and this year is gonna be all about separates and layering.

Simplicity, 1950’s Qipao

This is the only really impractical make on the list. I love Qipao’s. I own a few but would love to be able to make my own. I was ecstatic when this pattern was re-released, I had been stalking the original on Etsy for a year, and bought it immediately.

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Simple Sew, Cara Jumpsuit

I joined the Simple Sew Bloggers Network and this make jumpsuit has been on the list for a few months…oops. That being said I have really wanted to make this jumpsuit as I love the how easy jumpsuits are to wear. The wonderful Eleanor from nelnanandnora gave me the one she made it’s really a lovely jumpsuit.

Sew Over It, Heather dress

I’ve wanted this dress ever since I saw it as a class about two years ago AND FINALLY IT’S MINE MWHAHAHAHAHAHA and yeah, it looks like a really comfortable and practical dress 🙂

Tilly and the Buttons, Cleo

I’ve made this one!! That’s one off the list. I got some African wax print which was perfect for this pattern and this was my first make for 2017. A super easy sew that really got my sewjo going.

I’ve got a massive list of patterns I want to sew through and this year I plan to sew fearlessly. Vintage patterns..let me at you. Difficult fabrics..I’m coming for you. And new skills..you will be learnt!!!

Happy sewing

xx

 

 

Amended Charlotte Kan Tie Dress

My name is Megan and I am that one person at a sewing meet-up that is wearing RTW clothes.

I don’t know how many of you get that eager “did you make that?” question only to disappoint them (and yourself) by answering “no, it’s from the shops”…. it happens to me frequently. So, I’m on a bit of a mission to sew more clothes I actually wear and to fix the clothes I’ve sewn and liked but have slight issues with which means they get left in the wardrobe. One such make is my Charlotte kan Tie dress, which I’ve blogged about here.

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The problem. It was too short for me to wear comfortably. I did take 8 inches off!!! I kept tugging my skirt down as I walked and felt way too exposed even while wearing leggings underneath. My solution was to experiment with a bit of colour blocking and lengthen the skirt with fabric I had in the stash that was too small to use for anything.

The results……meh, possibly the worst bit of sewing I’ve done for awhile. I hated every step of sewing the extra length and this reminded me why I’m not a mender. For myself or anybody else…and what’s worst is now I think the dress is too long :,(

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This dress has so much potential and brings back such good early sewing memories (it’s the first dress I made and loved) so it’s worth saving and is going back under the sewing machine.

Sewing is such a journey and looking back at old makes and mistakes is part of that. I honestly got into sewing thinking I was gonna save loads of money and that everything I made would be perfect. To my past self: HAHAHHAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAH. No. Just no.

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Happy making,

Meg xx

Toile Rosa Shirtdress, Tilly and the Buttons

This is my quick and dirty toile of the Rosa. I’ve not posted my toiles before (mostly because it is rare that I make them!!) but I thought if you’re similar in build to me and have this pattern this might help you out but please forgive the lack of love put into sewing everything about this!!

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The Fit

Shirts have always been bane of my RTW shopping experience. I’m size 10, a B cup with broad shouldered and probably broad backed. The buttons around the bust area always gape open, even when I go up a size. I’ve had the popping open of buttons which should only be the privilege of the more well endowed….and this shirt is no exception.

I sewed a size 3 on top grading up to a 4 on the waist and the hips. I have a good fit on the waist. The sleeves, not a 3/4 length on me, finish at an odd place and I’m definitely gonna extend them down as I didn’t like the tab option.

The pictures are of the dress when I fiddled with with bust seam as shown on the tutorial but I need more than the 1.5 seam allowance to get the right fit. If you can see the seams don’t quite go over my nipples like they are supposed to. Also the pulling around the armpits means I need to adjust the armhole. However, I am pleasantly surprised about how well the fit on the shoulders are.

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The fabric

I didn’t help myself with the choice of fabric I used, I got this for free at a fabric swap, and it is so thin and shows every rushed seam in all their wrinkly glory. I have no idea what the content is but I think it’s a colour suited to very few.

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I’m currently working on making the adjustment for the next version. If anyone has any hints, tips and tricks for getting the fit right I am all ears and would be very grateful!!

Happy sewing,

Meg